Nature at Amersham Band
It’s not just about music ...
The site on which Amersham Band is built was probably once part of a chalkland meadow until the houses in School Lane were built in 1919. As a south-facing chalkland area, the vegetation was originally a mix of many different wildflower species and was home to owls, badgers, deer and other species. When the Band took over the site in 2015, the land was a wild meadow surrounded by overgrown trees and hedges. The construction of the Amersham Band building was completed in 2020. Today, the building and parking areas occupy approximately half of the 1.1 acre site.
As well as making music, the aims of the Band extend to creating close ties with the community through its activities and through full use of the site. As an organisation, we are also fully aware of the impact of climate change and the threats to our natural world caused by urban developments. As a result, Amersham Band aims to preserve and enhance the natural areas of the remainder of the site for the benefit not just of Band members but also for the wider community.
Planting a hedge
Making bird boxes
getting ready for work
The Project Partnership
In 2023, Amersham Band began a project to encourage and develop the wildlife on the Band site. The project activities and events were supported by our partner, Wild Amersham, part of Sustainable Amersham. Several other organisations made precious contributions in various ways. Among these are BBOWT (Bucks, Berkshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust) which provided training and funding, the Amersham Community Board, which also provided funding, Amersham Town Council, which provided a scythe and planted a tree, BARG (Bucks Amphibian and Reptile Group) which is helping with ongoing monitoring of specific wildlife, and the Chiltern Society, which provided scythe training.
The project elicited terrific support from members of the Band and from the wider community. People embraced different opportunities to spend time in nature enjoying a range of activities varying from hands-on working parties, events such as a Dawn Chorus guided walk, scything and wildflower identification courses and monitoring the changing wildlife on site.
Band members and Wild Amersham and other community volunteers continue to look after the site. A group of scythers cuts the meadow twice a year; we plant up and prune the hedges; and we monitor for amphibians and reptiles, birds, butterflies and plants. Come and join our groups of volunteers to help maintain and enhance the site and the wildlife that lives there. Learn about wildflowers, birds, and how you can help biodiversity.